How The Fiscal Cliff Will Affect You

WASHINGTON (WUSA) --If lawmakers do nothing to stop the nation from going over the Fiscal Cliff, we are all going to pay a lot more in taxes.

The median household income in the region is about $84,000. That means that the median household will likely have to pay between $2,000 and $3,500 extra in taxes.

Nearly 90 percent of Americans would pay more in taxes. The Tax Policy Center estimates that the numbers work out to be about $500 billion next year.

Low-income households would pay more due to expiration of tax credits in the 2009 stimulus. That means they could go from paying next to nothing taxes -- to paying at least $400, if not closer to $1,000 -- next year.

For the economy, that means $500 billion in disposable spending is going away. Just looking at the middle class, the White House is saying consumption would decline next year by about $200 billion.

Consumer spending is about two-thirds of the economy.Let's say the nation's economy is growing by 2 percent right now. We could see 1.4 percentage points shaved off on that impact alone.